The Godfather

Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in "The Godfather"

I am not a fan of Marlon Brando the person, but Brando the actor is a different story. It is obvious why he is considered one of the best actors in history with this film.

Brando is able to transition from loving, family patriarch to cold-blooded killer. When he is with his family he is supportive, caring and everything a father should be, but mention his name to any of the other five families and they shudder in fear. Brando is the head of the Corleone family, one of the five mob families residing in New York.

Marlon Brando and Al Pacino are the driving forces of the film, but it is obvious that everyone involved made this film with passion.

The film is long and there are a lot of daunting moments, but they are all handled with ease (or at least they made it seem that way).

Francis Ford Coppola received a lot of flack now for his recent films. He is considered another director that went from being great to not so great, but he deserves credit for this film.

The performances are all natural. Nothing feels forced about any of them.

All the moments are filled with suspense whether or not you know what is going to happen next. It sounds odd, but even the moments I felt were coming I was eager to know how.

What makes this film special, though, are those moments of human tenderness. Yes, the Corleone family is part of the mob. They have to kill those people that put them at risk, they provide vengeance to those that hurt their loved ones and that's the key. At the center they are a family. They love one an another and support one another. They may not always see eye to eye, but mess with one of them and be prepared to face consequences.

This was one of Al Pacino's first major roles. Not many people knew who he was. It was a risk to cast him for such a pivotal role, but he proved that he had the talent and the skill to hold his own against one of the greatest actors in history. Pacino plays Michael, Corleone's youngest son. He is a war hero and reluctant to join the family business, but after an assassination attempt against his father, he becomes more involved and proves he can take his father's place.

"The Godfather" is still considered one of the best films of all time.

Pacino transitions from reluctant mobster to Don of the family and he makes the transition seamlessly.

Another great performance comes from James Caan who plays Sonny. Sonny temporarily takes his father's place while his father is unable to lead. Sonny is hot-headed and known to make rash decisions. This proves to be his downfall.

He is protective, but also predictable. Seeing how he is taken care of comes as a blow.

Robert Duvall plays Tom Hagen, Vito Corleone's son-in-law, he is vital to the business, but since he is an abusive husband, it is hard to trust him.

The entire supporting cast is good. There are hit men, cowards, rival gang members. There is not one person I can think of that is a weak link in the cast.

Diane Keaton plays a schoolteacher and Michael's girlfriend. They are later married, and it is obvious she is torn between the life she thought she and Michael were going to have and the life he chose.

"The Godfather" is definitely worth the watch. Yes, yes I know I'm way late in watching this film as well, but there is a reason people still talk about this film now. Give it a watch and find out for yourself.

This film is no longer streaming on Netflix, but I'm sure it won't be too difficult to find a place where you can watch it.